TEGA CAY--City leaders are demanding more than a dozen conditions before they'll give Wal-Mart the green light to build a supercenter in Stonecrest, but Wal-Mart officials say they're still thinking it over.

City Council members, their attorneys, Stonecrest's owner Herman Stone and developer Bryan Tuttle, and Wal-Mart have been negotiating behind closed doors for weeks over the proposed supercenter - what it would look like, when it would be open, where traffic would be directed, and more. The discussions boiled down to 14 conditions the council has placed on Wal-Mart and Tuttle, although the demands are not yet binding.

"These are preliminary negotiations," said Mayor Bob Runde. "These are starting points."

The council released its list of conditions Saturday, following four hours of negotiations behind closed doors last Thursday with everyone involved. Council members have said that if these concerns are addressed, a majority of them would annex and rezone the 7 acres needed for the Wal-Mart to be built.

Councilwoman Judi Tesla is the only council members who has publicly stated her opposition to the deal. She was not at either closed-door meeting last week.

"I'm hoping the residents are able to convince at least two other council members that Wal-Mart is not the best option for our city," Tesla said.

The council's conditions range from how many hours a day Wal-Mart could operate, to how it will display signage, to where its gas station would be built. Besides stipulations on how and where Wal-Mart would conduct business, city leaders are asking that Wal-Mart pay for a police substation inside the store as well as pay for the two traffic lights called for on Hwy. 160 West and Dam Road.

The conditions could become part of the comprehensive Stonecrest development agreement, which sets forth how the 122-acre mixed use property will be developed over the next decade. The council would have to hold a public hearing before approving the changes to the agreement, and the developer would also have to agree, before the conditions could become binding on Wal-Mart and the developer.

Council members said the list came from all the concerns they have heard from people both for and against the proposed supercenter.

Wal-Mart officials received the council's list Monday. Spokesman Keith Morris said that on first glance Wal-Mart is still optimistic about working with the city council.

"Some of the issues they raised are operational and will affect the store after it is built and running, so we're going to have to look at all of them closely and see if we can still proceed," Morris said.

Members of Tega Cay Citizens for Wal-Mart are happy with the city's actions, according to group spokesman Pat Hermsen.

"In general we're pleased that the city is trying to drive the best bargain they can," Hermsen said. "I didn't expect the city to just acquiesce to everything Wal-Mart wants."

Meanwhile, Us Against the WAL is commending the council for bringing up these issues, according to a representative from the group. However, the group is still opposed to a Wal-Mart in Stonecrest.

"We commend the council for realizing some of the issues involved with bringing a Wal-Mart into the area, but a pretty Wal-Mart is still a Wal-Mart," the representative said.

Tega Cay City Council's quid pro quo

• THE LAND:Tega Cay leaders are placing conditions on the acreage to be annexed. They want any annexation request for the Wal-Mart to include a 2-acre tract at the corner of Dam Road and Hwy. 160. That land is occupied by some abandoned trailers and the burnt-out remnants of a house, and was not part of the original Stonecrest offer. • GAS STATION:If Wal-Mart wants to open a gas station with the supercenter, the council says, it could do so only at this corner. Wal-Mart had proposed building a gas station in front of the store on the future Stonecrest Boulevard. • HOURS:Wal-Mart would be allowed to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week except where state and county blue laws say otherwise. But city officials said they could decide to limit all retail hours inside the city, and that could affect Wal-Mart's hours. They would have to do that before the Wal-Mart deal is finalized, though. • POLICE SUBSTATION:Wal-Mart would have to build and furnish a police substation in the store and pay for its operation and upkeep. • ROADWORK:Wal-Mart would be responsible for paying for road improvements including traffic lights at Dam Road and Hwy. 160 West, as well as installing sidewalks along both sides of the roads around Wal-Mart. • SIGNAGE:Wal-Mart cannot use the slogans "Always," "Low Prices," "We Sell for Less" or the words "Meat and Produce" on the outside of its building. • BUILDING DESIGN: The city council would get final approval on the design of the building, and Wal-Mart would have to obscure the sides and back of the supercenter from view with buffers. • LIGHT POLLUTION:Wal-Mart would also have to find a way to control light pollution in its parking lot. • STUFF OUTSIDE: Except for a secured garden area, Wal-Mart would not be able to display or store merchandise outside the building. • DELIVERIES: Wal-Mart would not be allowed to receive deliveries between 6 and 9 a.m. or between 2 and 6 p.m. • RETENTION PONDS: Wal-Mart would have to make the retention ponds it proposed as pollution control methods aesthetically pleasing. The council wants fountains and a gazebo, at least. The council also wants to see the parking lot paved with materials that "minimize standing water and maximize environmentally-friendly runoff." • APARTMENTS:Along with eliminating 207 apartments from the overall Stonecrest plan, the council wants the number of townhomes in the other residential section of Stonecrest cut by 93. That would leave 390 townhomes in Stonecrest. • MONEY: Under the current Stonecrest Development Agreement, the city has to pay Stonecrest $187,000. The city council wants that provision dropped.